SRMS Sees 6th, 7th Grade Standardized Scores Slightly Slip, 8th Grade Increase

On Monday, the Upper Dublin School District released a comprehensive report detailing the scores of standardized testing for the 2010-11 school year. Patch dug through the information and is presenting the results from Sandy Run Middle School here. See on scores at the high school, and check back for further reports on the elementary schools.

When asked for comment on the results of standardized test scores, Sandy Run Middle School Principal Denise Falconi said she proud of the school's performance overall, especially in light of challenges that the school faces.

“We are especially pleased that Sandy Run Middle School met all 25 target areas for AYP since we are the only school in the District that has 40 students in each disaggregate group," said Falconi, referring to state "Adequately Yearly Progress" measurements. "We are also very proud of our scores in 8th grade with 96% scoring advanced and proficient in reading and 90% in math.  We pride ourselves in making great progress in math and reading throughout the course of our students’ sixth, seventh and eighth grade experience.”

Falconi says the school has put measures in place to help make progress in weaker areas.

"We have established a mentoring program along with other interventions to close the achievement gap," said Falconi.

Sandy Run Middle School

About the PSSAs

The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSAs) tests grades six through eight at the middle school level. The UDSD report displayed PSSA results of each grade's math and reading scores, and then reported the percent of students in each of the following proficiency levels over the past six years: advanced, proficient, basic and below basic.

The report used the combined percent of students that fell into the top
two levels as a marker for success in that subject or demographic.

It should be noted that a criticism of PSSA scores is that particularly "smart" classes can move through the grade levels and skew results. Often times, this may show evidence of a particular group's abilities, and not necessarily the quality of education at each grade level.

Such a trend can be found in the following results amongst students in the middle school's ED and Individual Education Plan (IEP) programs. A particularly strong set of students in this category moved through the middle school and tested at the eighth grade level in 2011. This led to a decrease in scores at the seventh grade level in 2011.

Sixth grade reading slightly decreases

Sixth grade students at Sandy Run Middle School experienced a slight decrease in reading scores, falling to 82.2 percent scoring in the "advanced" or "proficient range" in 2011, from 82.9 percent a year before. The number is down from the school's five-year high of 88.6 percent in 2006. The percent of students of Asian and Caucasian ethnicities scoring in the advanced or proficient range each fell by one percentage point, at 87.9 and 86 percent, respectively.

The percent of African-American students scoring in the advanced or proficient range increased to 48 percent in 2011 from 44.4 percent the year before, and the number of students scoring at "below basic" decreased from 25 to 20 percent. However, these numbers are down from a high mark in 2006, when 62.9 percent of African-American students scored as proficient or advanced, and only 17.1 were "below basic."

The percent of sixth grade ED students scoring advanced or proficient in reading saw a decrease of 6.6 percent, from 58.1 to 51.5 percent in 2011. Students in school IEP programs remained at the same levels.

Sixth grade math slightly decreases, African-American students trend toward "below basic"

In total and in each ethnicity, sixth grade math scores saw a slight decrease in 2011. 86.7 of students fell into proficient or advanced categories, down from 89.1 the previous year. However, results have fluctuated in the 85-90 percent range for the past six years. Asian-American students saw their scores decrease from 100 percent to 93.9 percent, Caucasian students from 92.2 percent to 89.5 percent and African-American students a slight increase from 55.6 to 56 percent.

However, among the percent of African-American students falling in the "basic" or "below basic" ranges, a higher number fell to the lower designation. In 2010, 30.6 percent scored as basic, and 13.9 as below basic. In 2011, 32 percent scored below basic, while 12 scored in the basic range, a nearly 20-point swap.

ED and IEP students saw a similar trend. ED students saw the percent of test scores in the proficient or advanced ranges slip from 67.4 percent to 57.6 percent, and the number of students scoring at the below basic level increase from 11.6 percent in 2010 to 30.3 percent in 2011. IEP students fell from 65 percent at advanced or proficient levels to 42.4 percent in 2011, and saw an increase from 12.5 to 39.4 percent at the below basic level.

Grade 7 reading dips slightly, Asian-American, ED students make big gains

Overall, reading scores at the seventh grade level dipped slightly, with 89.3 percent scoring in the advanced or proficient range in 2011, down from 92.2 percent a year before. However, seventh grade reading scores have fluctuated in the tight 87-92 percent range over the past six years.

Asian-American students gained nearly 14 points on their scores, with 100 percent testing at advanced or proficient levels, up from 86.1 in 2010. Caucasian students’ scores decreased three points from 96.1 percent to 93.2 percent in 2011, and African-American students from 65.2 percent to 55.9 percent.

Grade 7 ED students also made a major gain, jumping nearly 20 points, from 40.9 testing as proficient or advanced in 2010 to 60.5 in 2011. However, the mark was a return to form for the grade, as the scores from 2006 to 2009 ranged from 54 to 66 percent. IEP students fell by a large margin, down to 48.9 percent from 71.4 a year before. Again, this was more of a return to normal levels after a "strong" group moved through in 2010, as students in IEP programs scored between 47 and 54 percent from 2006 to 2009.

Math scores fall significantly for 7th grade African-American students

While the overall percentage of students testing in the advanced or proficient range in math fell to 89.3 percent from a six-year high of 95.6 in 2010, African-American students saw the most significant decreases.

50 percent of seventh grade African-American students tested as proficient or advanced in math in 2011, down from 73.9 percent in 2010. The previous low over six years was 65.2 percent in 2006. The number of African-American students testing at the “below basic” level increased from 8.7 percent in 2010, to 23.5 percent in 2011.

Asian-American students remained at 100 percent at the proficient or advanced level, and Caucasian students fell slightly to 94 percent, from 97.6 percent in 2010.

ED students in the seventh grade saw their math scores fall to 55.3 percent from 68.2 percent, while those scoring in the "below basic" category increased from 13.6 percent to 26.3 percent. IEP students scoring as advanced or proficient fell over 34 points, from 85.7 percent in 2010, to 51.1 percent in 2011. However, this number represents a return to a prior average, as the percent of IEP students scoring advanced or proficient fluctuated between 51 and 54 percent from 2006 to 2010.

Grade 8 reading scores increase, students in specialized programs see big gains

Eighth grade reading achievement saw an overall increase of 4.5 percentage points, from 91.9 percent in 2010 to 95.4 percent in 2011. This figure marks a 10-year high. Caucasian students improved to 97.6 percent scoring advanced or proficient in 2011, up from 92.2 percent the year before. Asian-American students decreased from 100 percent to 94.9 percent, and African-American students decreased from 78.4 percent to 75 percent. However, zero African-American students in the eighth grade tested at a below basic level in reading, the first time that has occurred in the past ten years.

ED students saw their scores increase to 78.6 percent scoring advanced or proficient, up from 62.9 percent the year before. IEP students also saw an increase, from 61.9 percent to 72.2 percent in 2011.

Grade 8 math scores rise, especially amongst Caucasian students

Eighth grade math scores trended positively on average, with 89.7 percent of students falling in the advanced or proficient range, up from 82.3 percent in 2010. The number marks the second highest score in a 10-year period. Caucasian students made the largest gains, with 93.6 testing at the advanced or proficient levels, up from 82.9 percent in 2010. African-American students decreased from 59.5 to 50 percent, and Asian-American students from 95.3 percent to 94.9 percent.

ED students at the eighth grade level saw their scores increase nearly 10 points to 57.1 percent scoring advanced or proficient. Students in the IEP program made a similar gain, increasing from 40.5 percent to 50 percent scoring advanced or proficient.

Questions about this article or a particular grade? E-mail editor Kyle Bagenstose at Kyle@Patch.com